It Always Works Out: Interview with Adam D. Blum
Adam D. Blum, MFT is a licensed psychotherapist and the founder and director of the Gay Therapy Center, the largest private LGBTQ counseling center with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington D.C. “Most of my writing has been for the Gay Therapy Center’s blog, and this is how most clients find us.” The Gay Therapy Center’s website offers online services worldwide and attracts about 60,000 viewers per year from across the globe.
Some business owners struggle to write their own online content. What do you gain from writing for the Gay Therapy Center’s blog yourself?
I have trouble writing just for me for my own expression. I need an external purpose to write. My writing allows the internet learn about the Gay Therapy Center, my group psychotherapy practice. So I have a business reason to write. That helps me stop procrastinating and keep writing. I like knowing that I am spreading LGBTQ relationship and mental health information to places where there is little access to this information. Some of the most heart-breaking responses are from LGBTQ people in countries where they can be killed for their sexual or gender expression.
Where do your ideas originate?
My best writing ideas come from my journaling. And my best journaling comes after a therapy session, whether it is a session with my own therapist or after a session I have with a client. I now trust that when an idea comes from a deeper or more vulnerable place within me, or within one of my clients, it is a universal truth that is shared by many humans. Even when it feels like it is “just me.” Sometimes a writing idea comes from just one sentence or phrase that I find interesting. I build from there. One funny or creative or true concept can get me motivated to start writing.
What do your first drafts look like?
I let first drafts be a mess, and I keep repeating to myself, “It always works out,” when I inevitably lose confidence that anything good will come of it. I continue to hear the voice that the work isn’t good but now. I just notice it and keep going. I don’t take it in anymore.
Leaving the piece and then coming back to it later is always easier for me than pushing through when I am not in the mood to concentrate. These days, I only have the attention span and the discipline to write for a short time. I think that’s due to the influence of the internet age.
I always have a new perspective when I come back to it with fresh eyes. And the time away allows me to come up with more creative additions. These ideas come when I am taking a walk, showering, or lying in bed before I get up in the morning.
How do you approach editing your own work?
The ability to cut and paste on a computer is an under-valued miracle. For me, editing is fun. I like polishing. It’s like rearranging tchotchkes in my house, which is one of my favorite things to do. And the goal is always to make the sentences shorter and simpler. When I read authors like Augusten Burroughs, I am inspired by the beauty of well-crafted short sentences.
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I coax sexy writers like Adam Blum to reveal their creative secrets and processes in interviews to inspire you:
Subscribe to The Gay Therapy Center’s free e-course on building a better relationship with yourself.
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Feeling inspired? Book a private session with me, The Sexy Grammarian. You always leave private sessions with homework and inspiration, and the first session is always free.
